Tell me a little about yourself.
I am a rising senior physics and astrophysics major at the University of Cincinnati, where I moved for college. I'm originally from Akron, Ohio. I really enjoy Northeast Ohio where Akron is, but it's very different from the rest of Ohio and Cincinnati where I go to school. I like the seasons in Ohio, and I like that there is access to a lot of city things in Northeast Ohio. For fun I enjoy hiking -- I've really enjoyed hiking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and I visited Shenandoah in Virginia which was beautiful.
How did you get interested in astronomy?
Later in high school I started reading non-fiction astronomy books geared towards the public and those were really interesting. When I think about space it kind of makes my head spin because there is so much we really don't know. I just always wanted to learn more about that.
What is your favorite part about Copenhagen? DAWN?
I like how easy it is to walk or bike around. It's really nice for an independent traveler; you don't need to have a car. I got covid so I had to isolate for a while, which I didn't like so much... I've liked walking near the lakes in the city center, and going to Reffen. I've also enjoyed going to Tivoli and just walking around. We actually watched fireworks with the queen there! We are hoping to go to the Glyptotek and the zoo.
I really like the small community feeling of DAWN and the space that it is in. After just a few weeks, most people seem familiar and friendly. I also really enjoy that there are grad students in the DAWN-IRES program; they are great resources for astronomy and professional development questions.
What motivated you to apply to an international REU?
I applied to as many REUs as I could, but this one stood out because I'd never been to Europe. Studying abroad always appealed to me, but it's difficult to do that as a Physics major. When it came down to deciding, I chose to come to Copenhagen after talking to some friends who had done a lot of traveling and they had nothing but the best things to say about it.
Can you tell me about your summer research project?
I am working with Kasper Heintz and we're looking at [CII] and Lyman Alpha emission in high redshift galaxies. We're noticing that there can be a velocity offset between the two and we are exploring that in more detail.
What skills and knowledge would you like to acquire this summer?
I feel like I've already gotten better at reading papers. I'm excited that I get to learn more about a different topic in astronomy. My work at the University of Cincinnati is more about X-ray images of galaxy clusters, so it is a bit different. I would like to get better at coding, and I've been learning some useful coding skills, like fitting a gaussian to spectral data.
If you could have any superpower what would it be?
I would be able to function on very little sleep.